Countless existence has always protected the dignity of the Empire and its standing on the continent. it covered at least half of the southern part of the continent and the vast resources that it had, would always attract the greedy eyes of those Sects, scattered across the planet.
No one knows when the Empire of Dawn started its reign. But one thing was for sure; a supreme existence was definitely protecting it from the sidelines. Because of this deterrence, no sect had dared to provoke it and the Empire enjoyed several thousand years of peace.
But now that rumors of that supreme existence's death became widespread. One of the Sects that eyed the Empire ever since the beginning of history. The Flowing Cloud Sect evidently became itchy. After all, a Sect would only flourish if they had enough resources.
Inside the Imperial Palace, in a certain room. Two figures could be seen seating before each other. One visage belonged to a young man whose figure looked imposing and exuded a faint arrogance of nobility. The other figure clad in a jet-black robe, stared at the former while calmly sipping his tea.
"First Prince, the Sect Master is becoming quite impatient..." The man spoke in a hoarse tone. The young man referred to as the First Prince froze, before wryly smiling, "I know that the Sect Master is getting impatient. But until I confirmed that the supreme existence protecting the empire is gone. We can't just directly induce a coup."
"There's also the matter of the Longinus Clan, Zaramias Longinus. Back then, when I was reading one of the forbidden books of the Imperial Library. I found that the Longinus Clan actually isn't just a simple clan that rose to prominence by meritorious deeds." The First Prince cupped his chin with his right hand, apparently falling into deep contemplation.
"Nevertheless, we need to think about the consequences if we acted too early. And I have a feeling that our plans won't go so smoothly..."
The expression of the man clad in a jet-black robe flickered. Staring at the First Prince. He knew that this young man had the ability to perceive danger beforehand. As if he was a prophet that could see the future. Beaded sweat formed on his forehead.
Nodding his head, he replied, "I understand, I shall report the contents of our meeting to the Sect Master..." He stood up and vanished into nothingness. Leaving the First Prince behind who still calmly sat with his right leg over his left leg.
Hidden in the dark. A vicious and ambitious smile lifted on his lips as his eyes, stared at the distance.
Back at the Longinus' Clan Estate, everything looked as tranquil as ever. Except that a pair of mother and daughter could be seen begging a guard to let them inside.
"Sir, please look! We even have that young master's badge with us!" The young woman embraced her daughter as she revealed a jade token towards the guard. The latter merely shrugged, although the jade token looked genuine. He still found it hard to give entrance to this two. After all, there was this matter of burglars using forged jade tokens of certain families as an entry pass.
Who knows if these two were a part of that syndicate.
The guard stared at the young child and found that her expression looked pale, and her eyes looked yellowish. Evidently, the young child had a severe disease that needed immediate medical attention.
Inside a certain room in the Estate. Dan's consciousness slowly returned from a deep slumber. When his eyes opened, what greeted him were a series of system notifications which stunned him silly.
[System Upgrade Completed!]
[Host Confirmed as Dan Longinus!]
[Arranging World History according to the host's inner desires!]
[Welcome to the Assassination System v2.0]
The world turned monochrome for a moment. And when he blinked his eyes, the colors returned, making him think that the previous colorless world was an illusion.
[The System has concluded that the host is now capable of defending himself in this merciless world.]
[System Tutorial Ended!]
[Activating Dark Souls Difficulty]
[Graphics Set as Realistic]
[Because of the System Upgrade, the Main Skill Tree of an Assassin has been activated!]
[Crafting System Activated!]
Numerous mechanical voice echoed in his mind, Dan excitedly summoned the System Menu and tapped on the Skills Icon as an Inheritance Tree of skills materialized in the air before him. Staring at the upper part of the Skill Window, Dan realized that he had three Skill Points, and to activate a skill, he needed a single Skill Point.
Without hesitation, he placed it on three different skills named, Flicker, Stealth and Sudden Strike.
[Skill Name: Flicker]
[Skill Effect: Momentarily disappears into a different space dimension, becoming invincible to all kinds of attack for the duration of the skill.]
[Skill Duration and Cost: Lasts for three seconds; Costs: 2% of the Host's Qi.]
[Skill Cooldown: One minute]
[Skill Name: Stealth]
[Skill Effect: Manipulates the light around the user to create an effect of Stealth, becoming invisible towards the surrounding enemies or allies alike.]
[Skill Duration and Cost: Lasts for ten minutes; Costs: 10% of the Host's Qi.]
[Skill Cooldown: Thirty Minutes]
[Skill Name: Sudden Strike]
[Skill Effect: Condenses the Host's strength onto his arms, bestowing his next attack with a strength, far above than normal, causing massive damage to the enemy and a chance of insta-kill.]
[Skill Cost:5% of the Host's Qi]
[Skill Cooldown: Five Minutes]
Dan slapped both of his cheeks to find out if he was still dreaming or if the scene before him was a reality. Calming his emotions. He opened his My Account and there, he found that he had amassed 4312 ASP.
Closing the System Menu. Dan knew that he needed time to digest everything that happened to him as he stood up, clutching his complaining stomach before walking towards the direction of the kitchen.
"Please, Sir. I'm begging you, let us meet him!"
"I'm really sorry, Ma'am but I'm just following the rules, and the Master is still at the Imperial Palace. I can't really help you out with that..."
Two voices echoed from the gates of the Estate. Dan's expression flickered when he heard the sobbing voice of a young woman. Memories flashed in his mind as he mumbled, "That hole in the wall, auntie?" He quickly turned around, walking towards the direction of the gates.